Muralee Thummarukudy predicted a major boat accident in Kerala 2 months back

Tanur: Amid ongoing rescue operations at the site of boat accident in Ottumpuram here, a social media post by Dr Muralee Thummarukudy, an international expert in disaster management, predicting the tragedy is now garnering wide attention.

In a lengthy Facebook post dated March 31, Dr Thummarukudy, who currently serves as the operations manager at the crisis management branch of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), had predicted that more than 10 people would die in a house boat accident in Kerala soon. 

Asserting that the predictions are not guesswork or astrology, Thummarakudy wrote, “A little carelessness is enough for an accident. There are accidents happening. However, there has not been an incident resulting in the death of 10 people so far. Hence, none of this is making headlines. But, it will happen.” 

Thummarukudy also highlighted the absence of proper briefings in houseboats, lack of trained drivers, boats without licences and its adverse consequences. 

“If houseboat owners and government machinery work in tandem, then won’t there be more professionalism?,” he asked. 

Meanwhile, rescue operations are underway in Tanur where a recreational boat, carrying around 35 passengers, capsized drowning at least 22 people.  

The double-decker boat ‘Atlantic’, which met with the accident around 7 pm on Sunday, has been brought back to the shore.